Method and system for fulfilling ancillary needs resulting from property and other similar losses

ABSTRACT

A method to fulfill ancillary needs acquired as a result of property and other similar losses includes the steps of receiving insurance claims data input by claimants, storing and analyzing the insurance claims data, aggregating ancillary services and transmitting them to the claimants, and enabling claimants to communicate directly with ancillary services providers. Ancillary needs may include emergency auto rental, emergency housing, or loss prevention services. In addition, a system to fulfill ancillary needs includes a web server generating a site that allows claimants to input insurance claims data, a data warehouse for storing the insurance claims data, the application server including a claim data analyzing component for identifying claimants and verifying insurance coverage and an ancillary services component for aggregating ancillary services and transmitting them to claimants, and wherein the servers enable claimants to communicate directly with ancillary services providers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/537,519 entitled ONLINE METHOD AND SYSTEM FORFULFILLING NEEDS RESULTING FROM PROPERTY AND OTHER SIMILAR LOSSES, filedAug. 7, 2009, which is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/865,827, filed May 21, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.7,624,031, issued Nov. 24, 2009, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/207,246,filed May 26, 2000, the entire contents of all of which are hereinincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method and system used over a globalcomputer network such as the Internet, for fulfilling needs acquired bypersons and/or entities as a result of claims for losses to person orproperty.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today, the process of insurance claim handling for consumers orinsurance policy holders is scattered among some 2500 insurancecompanies, thousands of agents, adjusters, and appraisal firms, dozensof struggling call centers and countless other service providers. Agreat deal of the process is manual and paper-based, and almost none ofit is centralized. Each company owns, operates and pays for its ownprocessing system, each one trying to accomplish the same general goals,each system and process redundant of the competitors' systems. Sucholder paradigms can often benefit from newer technological advancescoupled with innovative methods of doing business. The convergence ofinformation technology, the internet and concomitant methods of doingbusiness offer opportunities to create efficiencies by way of lowercosts and greater satisfaction to consumers.

The widespread use of the Internet as it relates to the insuranceindustry is restructuring and combining traditional value chains,products and services into entirely new products and services which werenot possible before. This dramatic restructuring of global business andindustry is creating new value chains in what is now commonly called theNetwork Economy.

One value chain that is likely to be changed forever is the service oftaking, recording and handling routine insurance claims. Current claimhandling systems are inefficient when viewed in the context of theeconomy as a whole. For example, every insurance company has its ownclaims departments, processes and associated overheads. Insurancecompanies must pass on the costs associated with these departments,processes and overheads in the form of higher premiums to its customers.The paradigm of submitting a loss claim to an insurance company alsoremoves the loss payee from the process of recovering from the loss in asubstantive way. As such, the present processes do not provide theinsurance consumer or loss payee certain choices that may otherwise beavailable to satisfy the requirement for being made whole with respectto a loss.

Although the current system of handling claims has been adjusted andfine tuned, it does not employ the powerful tools of Internetcommunications or network economics that the Internet makes possible. Toreduce insurance claim's handling costs and to realize greater levels ofefficiency and customer satisfaction, newer technologies must beemployed. Tremendous opportunities for revenue are possible whenInternet business methods are applied to the entire claim handlingprocess, from the moment of first report, through the reinsuranceindemnity process.

The use of the Internet opens up the possibility of centralizing claimsprocessing for an entire industry. In this manner, the insuranceindustry can obtain the benefits that accrue from one resource ratherthan the multiple disparate discrete claims handling resources thatcurrently exist.

Through centralizing the claim process and making it accessible to theinsurance consumer, the traditional institutional approach toremediating a loss is placed into the hands of the person suffering theloss. This may create opportunities to aggregate the kinds of servicesand products that a loss payee requires to satisfy the loss. As such,the centralized system can consider volume purchasing of services andproducts to satisfy the loss payee requirements. Such volume purchasingwould lower the cost of goods and services that collectively theinsurance industry pays today.

A centralized claim processing center that is accessible by customers,insurance companies and other institutions dealing with the claim lossprocess, would be beneficial in terms of standardizing a claim'sfulfillment, offering choices among competing options for recoveringfrom losses, reducing the overhead costs associated with settlingclaims, and creating ancillary benefits that only can be achieved fromthe process of centralization.

Because a centralized conduit for claims processing does not exist inthe United States, it is not possible to collect the types ofinformation and data that would be helpful in analyzing how to bringadditional efficiencies to the claim loss process. For example, thecollection of data regarding the universe of claims may assist in a moreequitable rate setting among carriers. Another example where thecollection of claim data may be advantageous is in analyzing recoverycosts from certain types of losses and determining whether such lossescorrelate to region or other identifiable statistic.

The existence of a centralized collection of claims would allowsubrogation claims files to be created. Once the value of such files areestablished, there may be a market for their sale. Essentially anexchange of marketable subrogation claims could be created.

Accordingly, a system and method is needed that will enable all partiesinvolved in a loss claim process including but not limited to customers,carriers, agents, brokers, claims service representatives (CSRs),suppliers, and attorneys to resolve needs stemming from loss claims at acentral, branded, secure website serving claims for multipleparticipating insurers. Such a site would also permit the aggregation ofproducts and services to fulfill the loss recovery activity.Additionally, such a site would permit the aggregation of subrogationclaims that could thereafter be sold or auctioned in an exchangeenvironment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is drawn to a computer system and a method thattakes insurance claim inputs from any number of sources, incorporatesdeep domain knowledge about claim processing, aggregates services andproducts related to loss recovery and employs Internet market-makingtools to provide services to consumers, insurers and other relatedcommercial interests.

More specifically, the invention opens an online claim reporting hub,where individuals and institutions are able to report details ofpersonal and commercial insurance claims such as auto, homeowners andbusiness claims against any insurer, at any time. The system acceptsinput from the Internet and responds to the user graphically, in sound,and in printable forms. The insurance institutional users of the systemand method will direct respective policyholders and agents to the systemproviding 24 hour, 7 day per week, Internet claim service handling. Thesystem preserves the user's privacy while online and at the same time,provides the marketing of products and services related to the user'sneeds as they typically relate to an insurance loss.

To preserve the generality of the claim it is anticipated that the anynumber of different persons may report a loss, such as an individual whoexperienced an insurance loss, an entity that anticipates claims againstits policy or a witness to a loss. Examples of such reporters caninclude a consumer or policy holder, an insurance company, a potentiallyresponsible party to a lawsuit, or someone who is reporting the event,but whose specific role has not yet been defined.

In one sense, the invention is a method that serves as a publicadjuster, shifting the power to the buyer or consumer. From a consumerperspective, the system affords the ability to “reconstruct” orrehabilitate its claims and process claims with the least involvement ofclaims personnel. The process of reconstruction includes a consumer'sability to create and maintain a personal claim file online and lookinto it from time to time to view how the resolution of the claim isprogressing.

Claimants will essentially own the claims and drive the web-basedinsurance process of the invention. This process is an “open-system”which permits consumers to process their own claims and utilize theancillary services and commodities offered. In its idealized form, theinvention permits the claim process to proceed without an agent, brokeror an insurance company.

The invention also contemplates an online consumer to business exchange,wherein the site operates as a multi-party portal where vendors of goodsand services will advertise and offer the types of products that anindividual or business requires to rehabilitate a loss. By way ofexample, an individual that has an automobile accident may require ashort-term rental replacement vehicle. The vendors that supply suchrentals would offer automobiles to the individuals suffering the lossand seeking to rent.

In one embodiment, the system and method offers suggestions as to whichautomobile rental agencies carry rental vehicles within the coveragethat the policy permits. The invention also suggests other vendors orservices where appropriate. If one company cannot or will not handle acertain task or requirement (i.e. collecting a deductible), the visitorwill be presented with a message stating this, and offeringalternatives, such as a certain vendor offering to purchase thevisitor's deductible.

In another embodiment, the system and method allows for demandaggregation of products and services specific to insurance lossfulfillment. Demand aggregation is relatively new, because untilInternet capabilities, demand aggregation has not been practical. Themethod of the invention permits the purchase of large volume commoditiesand services, using purchasing power based upon the number of claimantsneeding a particular service or commodity.

In another aspect of the invention, in a business-to-business exchange,sellers, market makers and investors can transact for wholesale claims,post-accident purchase and sale of tranches of risk obligations andsubrogation rights. The system and method automatically scores a claimto determine the likelihood of recovery and then values the claim. Thesubrogation opportunity is valued by reviewing criteria such as accidentdescription, loss state, responsible party, and other pertinentdemographics. Once the system and method assigns a subrogation score anda valuation, the claim is bundled or pooled with other claims that havesome commonality to the newest claim. Thereafter, the bundled set orportfolio is valued as to its sale price. As the central market forwholesale claim service and financial liquidity, the invention willutilize network economics to further slash claim handling costs to itsparticipating insurance companies, while building an electronic databaseabout claims handling.

The invention distinguishes over conventional exchanges for auctioningoff assets by dealing in the auctioning, purchase and sale of tranchesof risk obligations and subrogation rights as “choses in action”.

The invention allows selected users to a search a database for similarclaims in order to identify potential or possible claims which maydevelop as class action suits or mass tort claims. Such a search may bedone without revealing the identities of the individual claimants.Additionally, the invention permits the pooling of common issues intoanonymous class action groups.

The invention allows selected users to a search a database andessentially mines data that is collected during the claims process.Among other things, data mining is valuable because it allows for thesale of non-personal data to interested parties. For example, data couldbe used for rate making or underwriting scoring and as such, would beuseful to state agencies as well as insurance companies.

Since a wide range of individuals and persons will access the system forpurposes of filing claims, it will utilize various automated fraudscreening devices to keep track of frequent claimants as well as claimshaving the indicia of fraud.

The method of the invention, as it relates to fulfilling needs acquiredas a result of losses to person or property, comprises the steps ofdirecting a person or entity with a need resulting from a loss to a siteon a global computer network, interviewing the person or entity at thesite to obtain information about the person or entity and the need theyhave, and analyzing and processing the information to provide the personor entity automatic access at the site to at least one service that willgo toward fulfilling the need of the person or entity.

The system of the invention comprises a site on a global computernetwork for fulfilling needs of persons or entities acquired fromproperty losses and other similar losses. The site has an interviewingcomponent for obtaining information about the person or entity and theneed they have, and a data analyzing and processing component foranalyzing the information provided by the person or entity and providingthe person or entity automatic access at the site to at least oneservice that will go toward fulfilling the need of the person or entity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages, nature, and various additional features of the inventionwill appear more fully upon consideration of the illustrativeembodiments now to be described in detail in connection withaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating typical actions, which can befacilitated online at the web site according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for carrying out the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram, which illustrates the operation of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram, which illustrates how subrogationopportunities are identified according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram, which illustrates the use of the datawarehouse in subrogation scoring according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram, which illustrates how the invention compiles,values and sells subrogation rights.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a system and method for enabling a person orentity with a need resulting from a loss relating to property,automobiles, boats, etc. to have the need fulfilled or satisfied on asite of a global computer network such as the well known Internet. Forexample, a policyholder who sustains a loss would have a need to reportan insurance claim for the loss and have the claim settled. Thepolicyholder may also require access to various related services, whichhelp the policyholder with other issues, related to the loss.

In a typical embodiment of the invention, a web site is provided on theWorld Wide Web where such needs can be fulfilled. The web site permitsany person or entity having a need resulting from a property loss tofulfill the need online. Such persons or entities can includepolicyholders, insurance carriers, insurance agents, insurance brokers,insurance customer service representatives, entities anticipating claimsagainst its insurance policy, suppliers, attorneys, police officers,witnesses to the event or accident that caused the loss, and otherpersons or entities with a need that results from the loss. Oneparticularly useful aspect of the invention is that it eliminates theneed for claimants to go through an agent, broker or the insurancecompany to file a loss claim.

The web site also provides claimants with various other services thathelp claimants deal with losses. These services typically includeimmediate access to emergency services, vendor referrals, claimtracking, loss prevention, frequently asked questions (FAQs), andself-guided user help.

The emergency service feature of the web site provides claimants withservices that resolve immediate issues, which result from losses.Emergency services typically include automobile rental services,emergency housing or housing repair services.

The vendor referral service is typically offered during the claimreporting process as described below, and provides appropriate vendorservices that enable a claimant to resolve various issues associatedwith the claim event. Available vendors are typically pre-approved bythe associated insurance carrier, and include repair and replacementservices. Vendor referrals are preferably aggregated in the invention tolower the price of the services.

The claim tracking service permits a claimant to review a reportedclaim, check on the status of a claim, and request feedback via email orby phone regarding the status of a claim. This includes a claimant'sappraisal and loss recovery status.

The loss prevention service permits claimants to access discounts atvendors that offer services to mitigate future loss prevention (i.e.vendors that sell smoke detectors). In addition, valuable informationcan be provided which describe steps for preventing similar claims inthe future.

The FAQs service provides access to a series of questions frequentlyasked at the time of a loss report concerning issues such as claimadjustment procedures, claimant required activities, payment timing,affects of claims on policy premiums, and the like.

The self-guided user help service provides an interactive, real-timediscussion feature and access to a “natural language” smart searchengine, which enables claimants to ask questions that were not addressedin the FAQs. Further, the user help service can perform an assessment ofthe claimant's current insurance policy and lifestyle in order to bestfit their changing needs. This may also include real-time discussionwith agents to answer claims questions and referrals to other counselingservices.

The web site further operates as a multi-party portal or “business tobusiness” exchange where vendors of goods and services, client insurers,reinsurers and investors and other interested parties transact forwholesale claim services and post-accident purchase and sale of riskobligations and subrogation rights. The web site provides a centralmarket for wholesale claim service and financial liquidity, utilizingnetwork economics to slash claim handling costs to participatinginsurance companies. The web site also builds an electronic databaseabout claims handling.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, typical actions which can be facilitatedonline at the web site include but are not limited topolicyholder-to-carrier transactions; carrier-to-carrier transactions;exchange of rights and responsibilities; and integration of tools andinformation. Online policyholder-to-carrier transactions can includesubmitting a loss claim, opening a claim file, notifying variousentities such as the insurance carrier, police, medical authorities,workers' compensation authorities and essentially anyone having saliencein the claim reporting scheme. Thereafter the claimant may inspect itsfile, correspond with various resources that have some bearing onprocessing the claim. Online carrier-to-carrier transactions can includefor example claim notification and documentation, negotiation, andfinancial settlement. Online exchange of rights and responsibilities caninclude for example outsourcing claim handling and selling claim rightsand risks. Online integration of tools and information services caninclude for example police reports, public records, skip traces, and thelike, and online dispute resolution.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is presented of an exemplaryembodiment of a system 10 from which a web site according to theinvention is built. The system 10 typically comprises a web applicationserver 12 which is communicable via the Internet 14 or any other globalcomputer network with microprocessor based devices 16 typically used byclaimants (insurance carriers, insurance regulators, insurance agents,self insureds, consumers), that include Internet browser software. Suchmicroprocessor based devices can include home personal computers,vehicle on-board tracking systems, voice data input/response systems,public access kiosks, or hand-held computers to name a few. Theapplication server 12 typically includes well known hardware andsoftware components which operate to define three back-end layers: a webserver layer 18, an application server layer 20, and a data layer 22.Each layer is protected by a firewall 24, 26, 28 that preventsunauthorized access by Internet users. A secure sockets layer 30 (SSL)is provided between the Internet 14 and the web server layer 18 toprovide privacy, authentication, and message integrity. The web serverlayer 18 includes a local director 32 that routes signals to a pair ofweb servers 34, and a directory server 36. These servers 34, 36 are thecommunication links between the application server layer 20 and theinternet 14. The application server layer 20 includes an applicationserver 38 which handles all data manipulation and tagged pages such asprogrammed in XML or HTML page-creation functions and a contentmanagement server 40. The data layer 22 includes a first database 42 forstoring claims data and a second database 44 for storing subrogationdata. The web application server 12 advantageously allows the deploymentof applications in a scalable fashion to accommodate increasing userdemands over time and permits interfacing with existing businesssystems. The web application server 12 is also designed to becommunicable with midsize and smaller claimants 46 via a public keyinfrastructure 48 (PKI). Large corporate claimants 50 on corporateintranets 52 can communicate with the web application server 12 via anextranet 54.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates how needs arising from lossclaims are processed on the web site in accordance with an embodiment ofthe method of the invention. In box 60, a person or entity that has aneed resulting from an accident or event, which causes a loss, accesses62 the web site. Such persons or entities can be policyholders andagents directed to the site by insurance companies who subscribe to thesite. In some embodiments of the invention, incentives can be employedwhich encourage the use of the web site for reporting claims online.Incentives can take the form of a gift menu that empowers web site usersto choose a gift or a gift certificate at participating online vendors,or cash-back based on their needs.

At the web site, a web page is displayed in box 64, which enables theperson or entity to report a loss event, which results in a need. Theweb site in box 66 analyzes and processes the data reported in thereporting step of box 64 and provides appropriate service selections,which will fulfill the need of the person or entity.

During the reporting step of box 64, the web site initiates an onlineuser-friendly interview process. This is accomplished by generatingonline forms or questionnaires that enable the person or entity(referred to hereinafter as claimant) to provide all the necessaryinformation associated with the claim event so that a claim can be filedand resolved online. Such forms will comply with Accord, state andindustry standards.

The data provided by the claimant is then analyzed and processed in box66. This involves identifying the claimant; verifying insurancecoverage; summarizing the information or data obtained from theclaimant; identifying subrogation opportunities, fraud, and claims thatrequire an escalation of services; matching the claimant with theappropriate services in order to fulfill the claimant's needs;aggregating demands; and data storing.

The claimant identification process permits the determination of whatthe claimant's needs are so that appropriate steps can be automaticallytaken to resolve the claimant's needs as these steps are affected bycarrier preferences, jurisdiction requirements, and availability ofsolutions. During the identification process, the information providedby the claimant is analyzed in order to identify the claimant as apolicyholder, a witness, insurance company, or other person or entitywith a need resulting from the loss.

The insurance coverage verification process determines what solutionsare available to the claimant. The information/data summarizing processprovides the claimant with a confirmation email that can be printed outlocally for the claimant's records. The email also summarizes policyclaim information and the next steps in the process. A file is alsocreated for the claimant which can be easily accessed by the claimant atthe web site at a later date via the claim tracking function. This fileenables the claimant to inquire as to the status of the claim to viewhow the claim is progressing.

The processes for identifying subrogation opportunities, fraud, andclaims that require service escalation; claimant matching; and demandaggregating are performed by an automated rules engine. An example ofsuch a rules engine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,733 issued toAleia, et al. on Nov. 23, 1999 for a “Method and computerized system formanaging insurance receivable accounts.” The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No.5,991,733 as it relates to the rules engine is incorporated herein byreference. The computerized system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,733provides, among other capabilities, for cases processed in-house bycollectors, automation respecting scripted dispute handling, on-linepayment plan capabilities, electronic data transfer and, collectionstrategy development, for cases referred to an outside collection agencyor attorney, automation respecting facsimile generations, legal strategydevelopment, in-house attorney reviews and monitoring, electronic datatransfers to local counsel, evaluation of the next step to be undertakenand, access to a bankruptcy database.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, subrogation opportunities are identified usingthe claim data 70 obtained at the web site 72 during the interview orinterrogation process 74. The claim data is analyzed 76 for state, typeof claim, accident description, loss date, claim notes, presence of afavorable police report, existence of an insurance carrier, and othersimilar criteria. As subrogation opportunities are identified, theclaimant's file is passed to the subrogation process 78 for servicing aswill be explained further on. If no subrogation opportunity is found,the file is closed 79.

Claim events that require escalated carrier and/or other responsiveness(i.e. police response to a fatality) are automatically routed to theappropriate carrier, adjuster, and other appropriate parties to resolvethe claim event as soon as possible.

Claimant matching is accomplished by presenting the claimant withservice selections which are based on the type of claimant the person orentity was identified as by the system in the claimant interviewingprocess, and providing service selections which are customized for theclaimant. Claimant matching optimizes the claimant's experience in theclaim process and continues until the claimant is satisfied. In oneembodiment of the method, the service selections can include preferredvendor services discounts where claimants will have access to discountsat featured vendors. If the nature of the reported claim, the locationof the event, and the claimant's insurance carrier dictates the use ofone of these vendors, a hot button to the vendor's web site will bedisplayed at the site. If the claimant selects one of these vendors, theselected vendor is contacted in real-time in order to expediteresolution of the claim event. In another embodiment of the method, theservice selections can include online claims settlement options.Claimants are provided with options for accepting and settling the lossreimbursement of the claim online. The settlement is subject to theautomatic appraisal of the claim, acceptance of a predeterminedsettlement amount, and access to external settlement engines such asonline alternative dispute resolution services.

Demand aggregation is performed by going into the market and eitherpurchasing a commodity/service or arranging for the purchase of acommodity/service using the demand aggregator's volume purchasing powerprovided by the large number of claimants needing that particularservice or commodity. Methods for purchasing commodities and/or servicesor arranging for such purchases using demand aggregation are describedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/545,402, entitled, “Methods ForProcessing And Settling Property Loss Claims Using Online DemandAggregators,” filed by Welnicki et al. on Apr. 7, 2000, and assigned tothe assignee herein. The disclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/545,402, as it relates to purchasing methods using demandaggregation, is incorporated herein by reference.

The data, which has been analyzed and processed, is stored in the datalayer of the system or data warehouse. The data warehouse isadvantageously used for reporting, resale claim aggregating and matchingclaimants with the appropriate services. The data warehouse typicallystores data about prior selections made by claimants; stores dataprovided during the claimant interview process; and stores predeterminedselections and preferences of insurance carriers.

The claims data stored in the data warehouse is electronically exchangedin an auction-based manner. This step of the method advantageouslyprovides an electronic exchange for a variety of claim related services,including auctioning and portfolio transfer of claims handlingresponsibilities between carriers. The data warehouse can provide claimsdata to regulators, attorneys, venders, safety experts, underwriting andrisk bearers, municipalities, news services, warning system vendors, andre-insurers to name a few.

The data warehouse is used for subrogation scoring. As illustrated inFIG. 5, subrogation scoring involves taking historical data stored 80,81 in the data warehouse 82, and assigning a value 84 to such factors ascustomer, type of loss, line of business, balance amount, debtordemographics, and the demographics of the claim(s) as described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,991,733 mentioned earlier. Using this data, a probability ofrecovery is calculated. The factors and weights will vary by customer.The collection system will assign a strategy for working the accountbased on the score resulting from the calculated probability ofrecovery. The scoring is then applied to a grouping of claims/accountsto determine the aggregate value of the group. The value of the group isused in a subrogation claim exchange process 86 to be described below.

If the person or entity in the reporting step of box 64 wishes to engagein some form of claim data exchange, the site will automatically provideaccess to this service online. Claim data exchanges can take the form oftransacting for wholesale claim services, or post-accident purchase andsale of tranches or portfolios having risk obligations and subrogationrights. Exchanging subrogation claims facilitates bulk transactionsbetween insurance carriers, subrogation service providers, and theinvestment community. The ultimate goal of the method and system of theinvention is to provide a maximum return to all parties involved in thetransaction. The claims exchange process of the invention achieves thisgoal by enabling participants to buy, sell and service claims for alllines of business. The claims exchange feature of the invention permitsmatching of purchasers with portfolios that meet predeterminedrequirements, i.e., accounts may be placed, bought, sold, evaluated,serviced, submitted to arbitration, and settled online via the claimsexchange process.

FIG. 6 illustrates how the invention compiles, values and sellssubrogation rights. The claims files 90 stored in the data warehousementioned earlier are searched to identify 91 claims with subrogationrights. A claim with subrogation rights is scored 92 as to theprobability of its recovery, and the cost of recovering the claim isestimated 93. The recovery score and the estimated cost of recovery areused to set a value 94 for the claim. Once the claim is valued, it isbundled or pooled 95 into a group with other claims that have somecommonality to the claim. In particular, the claims are groupedaccording to pre-established criteria, examples of which include but arenot limited to dollar value, type of claims (automobile, homeowners)state or region. The bundled group or portfolio of claims is then valued96 as to its sale price and offered for sale 97 in an auction-likemanner. The bid, ask and sale prices are then recorded 98 in the datawarehouse.

As should now be apparent to those skilled in the art, the Internet website-based claim-reporting feature of the invention operates as acentral point for the collection of claim event information. Theinvention will simplify the claims management process and reduce thetrouble, time, and expense that claimants and carriers typically incurin order to complete the claim reporting and loss reimbursement process.The claims reporting web site of the invention offers significantsources of value for the insurance carriers, policyholders, and agents.Insurance carriers that subscribe to the service can reduce expenses andimprove their customer service. Policyholders are empowered withconvenient access to report a claim, step-by-step guidance on the claimreporting process, and control over the decisions that can help toresolve their claim event.

Subscribed carriers can offer value-added services to theirpolicyholders at typically half the present market cost of reporting aclaim. Once a critical mass of claim reporting and vendor selection datais collected at the web site, subscribed carriers have access topurchase valuable database of information for benchmarking purposes.This information can be offered at about half the cost of what leadinginsurance carriers currently pay for this information.

Policyholders of subscribed carriers can report and access claims attheir convenience, access referrals to preferred vendors (auto-bodyshops, glass repair facilities, jewelry stores, contractors, etc.) tohelp recover from the loss, and begin the recovery process to settle theclaim expeditiously. The invention permits enhanced value-added servicesto be phased into the claims reporting system, which policyholders canutilize to exploit the convenience, control, and functionality of theInternet.

While the foregoing invention has been described with reference to theabove embodiments, additional modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, suchmodifications and changes are considered to be within the scope of theappended claims.

1. A computer system comprising: a web server for generating a site thatallows claimants to directly input, on microprocessor-based devices,insurance claims data for sustained losses via a computer network; adata warehouse for storing the insurance claims data, the data warehousein communication with the web server and an application server; whereinthe application server includes a claim data analyzing component foranalyzing inputted insurance claims data and identifying the claimantsand verifying insurance coverage based on the analyzing; and anancillary services component for aggregating services that are ancillaryto loss recovery and automatically transmitting the aggregated ancillaryservices to the claimants via the computer network; and wherein the webserver and the application server enable the claimants to communicate,via the computer network using the microprocessor-based devices,directly with providers of ancillary services.
 2. The computer system ofclaim 1, wherein the claim data analyzing component is further forsummarizing the claims based on the analyzing.
 3. The computer system ofclaim 1, wherein the services aggregated by the ancillary servicescomponent of the application server comprise one of emergency servicesand loss prevention services.
 4. The computer system of claim 3, whereinthe emergency services aggregated by the ancillary services component ofthe application server comprise at least one of emergency housing andemergency automobile rental services.
 5. The computer system of claim 4,wherein the emergency automobile rental services aggregated by theancillary services component of the application server compriseautomobile rental agencies carrying rental vehicles within theclaimant's insurance coverage.
 6. The computer system of claim 3,wherein the loss prevention services aggregated by the ancillaryservices component of the application server comprises smoke detectorvendors.
 7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the site on thecomputer network further allows rehabilitation vendors to directlyinput, on the microprocessor-based devices, rehabilitation services datafor the sustained losses; the rehabilitation services data is stored inthe data warehouse; and the application server further comprises a claimrehabilitation component for aggregating rehabilitation servicesrelating to the loss recovery and for automatically transmitting theaggregated rehabilitation services to the claimants via the computernetwork for display on the microprocessor-based devices.
 8. The computersystem of claim 7, wherein the site includes a claim tracking componentthat enables the claimants to view data relating to loss rehabilitationin the data warehouse, thereby enabling the claimants to track lossrehabilitation on the microprocessor-based devices via the computernetwork.
 9. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the claimrehabilitation component provides, on the site, hot buttons for certainof said aggregated rehabilitation services, wherein selection of one ofthe hot buttons on the microprocessor-based devices enables theclaimants to make real-time contact with a rehabilitation service vendorvia the computer network, web server, and application server to expeditethe loss recovery.
 10. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the sitefurther comprises a gift menu that enables the claimants to select agift for using the site, thereby incentivizing the claimants to reportclaims via the site.
 11. A computer-implemented method for processinginsurance claims comprising the steps of: receiving at a server, via acomputer network, insurance claims data input by claimants for sustainedlosses; storing the insurance claims data in a data warehouse;analyzing, by the server, the inputted insurance claims data to identifythe claimants and verify insurance coverage based on the analyzing;aggregating, by the server, ancillary services related to loss recovery;and transmitting to the claimants, via the computer network, aggregatedancillary services; wherein the server enables the claimants, via thecomputer network, to communicate directly with providers of ancillaryservices relating to the loss recovery.
 12. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 11, wherein analyzing, by the server, further comprisesanalyzing the inputted insurance claims data and summarizing the claimsbased on the analyzing.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11,wherein transmitting aggregated ancillary services comprisestransmitting to the claimants, via the computer network for display onmicroprocessor-based devices, emergency services or loss preventionservices.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, whereintransmitting the emergency services comprises transmitting, via thecomputer network for display on the microprocessor-based devices,emergency housing or emergency automobile rental services.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein transmitting theemergency automobile rental services comprises transmitting, via thecomputer network for display on the microprocessor-based devices,automobile rental agencies carrying rental vehicles within the claimantsinsurance coverage.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13,wherein transmitting loss prevention services comprises transmitting,via the computer network for display on the microprocessor-baseddevices, smoke detector vendors.
 17. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 11, further comprising: receiving at the server, via the computernetwork, rehabilitation data input into microprocessor-based devices byrehabilitation vendors, related to the sustained losses; storing therehabilitation data in the data warehouse; aggregating, by the server,rehabilitation services related to the loss recovery; and transmittingto the claimants, via the computer network, the aggregatedrehabilitation services.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim17, further comprising transmitting to the claimants, via the computernetwork for display on the microprocessor-based devices, data in thedata warehouse relating to loss rehabilitation, thereby enabling theclaimants to track progress of the loss recovery.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising transmittingto the claimants, via the computer network for display on themicroprocessor-based devices, a hot button that, when selected, enablesthe claimants to have real-time contact, through themicroprocessor-based devices and the computer network, with arehabilitation service vendor to expedite the loss recovery.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising transmittingto the claimants, via the computer network for display on themicroprocessor-based devices, a gift menu that enables the claimants toselect a gift, thereby incentivizing the claimants to input insuranceclaims data using the microprocessor-based devices.